The Joys of Cruising - the saga of the tiller pilot and other stories

Octogenarian Stuart Lyall was determined to reach Falmouth, cruising solo along the West Country coast. In this three part series, Stuart recounts his singlehanded exploits, with weather and adventures that would make even those younger than he pause for thought!

Episode one sees Stuart take ownership of 'Termaric' and reaquaint himself with the sea and sailing after five decades since his last trip afloat with the Royal Navy. After a few local sails and a couple of shakedown cruises to Poole and The Solent, Stuart starts planning for the big trip west. But it's not always plain sailing...

"I was less confident because I hadn’t been sailing since I was in the Royal Navy, which I left in 1968. I’d been landlocked ever since then. So getting to Portland at the end of 2017 was an ideal opportunity for sailing and testing the water before buying Termaric, a fin keel Moody 28, in early 2018. The first year I only got as far as Lulworth Cove and a couple of picnics and overnights in Warbarrow Bay, all singlehanded, which is why I chose that boat because I could cope with the weight of her on my own. The second year (2019) took us (Termaric and I) round to Christchurch Bay and we anchored off Studland. We got into Poole Harbour and around Brownsea Island and were exploring the harbour when a leak developed around the engine, the baffle had split. I managed to get back to the marina under sail over a few days and got back into the harbour the day of the berth holders party! I dropped anchor by the mooring buoys and one of the boys came and towed me in. So I fixed that and the next year we were off round the Bill. A bit daunting, but I must say going westward around the Bill I’ve always found pretty straightforward staying close in. Coming the other way can be a different story!

I ventured round the Bill in 2020 and found it quite easy going round and that first year we got as far as Cawsands Bay before eventually the weather beat me back. Later in the year, in August actually, I went out again to Salcombe, I must have been a glutton for punishment! But the challenge after that was to get to The Lizard or Falmouth so all that was planned for the following year. Bearing in mind that Covid was about and I planned to do the whole lot within a month if I could, allowing for the weather, probably without going ashore at all. So I stocked up the boat with loads of water and all the food and everything in 2021 and off we went!  

It took the second attempt to get as far as Falmouth because the first effort we got to Salcombe when the tiller pilot let me down. When you’re singlehanded and trying to drop the main sail, if it’s a bit choppy, the tiller pilot takes you round in circles and you’re very likely to get thrown over the side! Actually that wasn’t the start of it. We, I say we, that’s Termaric and I, headed off round Portland Bill and ran into dense fog. Thankfully we cleared it quickly and the next pantomime was trying to capture a very bouncy buoy at Lyme Regis. They’re fairly exposed, but eventually I think we managed it. But with all that experience that year, it wasn’t enough to pick it up in the final year when nobody could pick up a buoy, but that’s later in the tale. After this little blow, the weather settled right down, the wind dying away, and we spent the next couple of days mainly on the engine, calling in at Torquay Marina and then heading for Salcombe. That was the start of the tiller pilot saga when it packed up whilst trying to drop the main in the entrance to Salcombe. I tried to get a new one out in 24 hours to Dartmouth and nearly succeeded but the address was incorrect so it never arrived and the weather was a bit catchy so I thought I had better return to Portland and sort it out.

We had a close shave with disaster while leaving Dartmouth. It was raining with blustery winds and a lively sea. We were just getting clear of the harbour and heading south east and I was setting the genoa when the trailing sheet on the starboard side became trapped under a skylight on the deck, preventing the sail from being pulled out properly and behaving as though it was backed. It probably didn't take longer than half a minute to nip forward and free the line, but on arriving back into the cockpit and once again able to see the port side, I saw that we were rapidly being driven sideways towards the Mew Stone which was now only about a hundred metres away and closing fast! It called for quick action indeed to complete setting the genoa and grab the helm. That was all with the dodgy tiller pilot, but we made it back safely. I had three tiller pilots in the end, mind you I did give them a lot of stick!"

"Back in 2020, I ended up in Yarmouth. I’d been to Cowes and the forecast was looking bad for the next ten days increasing ENE 5-6. I’ve got a lovely photograph of being on one of the buoys at Yarmouth at sunset with these geese going past. The wind was already starting to build and in an easterly they’re quite exposed so I went into the harbour, the first time I’d ever been in there and it was like going into one of the big London stores on a Christmas day, Christmas shopping. It was so busy, it was unbelievable! But we managed to squeeze in and in turn got squeezed by other boats rafting up and people were stomping over the decks all night. The next day the forecast was still looking pretty grim but good for coming home, at least it was the right direction. So we shot across to Poole and at first they said they couldn’t accommodate me, but once I got there I asked them again and they said the other boats they were expecting hadn’t arrived, they weren’t turning up because of the weather. I ended up spending a couple of days there and I could see I was just going to have to go for it and waited until the tide was just turning at Poole and I got back from Poole Harbour mouth to the the East Harbour entrance at Portland in 4 hours! But that’s what did for the tiller pilot because it was a quartering sea and a very strong wind and she was lapping about all over the place so the tiller pilot was working ever so hard. I gave it a rest as much as I could. The range was closed and it was a weekend as well so I got round St Albans Head thinking I would be OK, I could head straight for home and the guard boat came across and said I had to go across and pick up a different lattitude, but it still only took 4 hours and you knew you’d done it, you really knew you’d done it!

The tiller pilot seemed ok at the time, but that trip disturbed all the sediment in the bottom of the diesel tank. It was a 30 year old tank and the engine was getting choked up and kept cutting out on me. We changed the filters and then had the fuel tank cleaned out whilst she was out of the water over the winter, but on relaunch when I went inside the cabin the diesel tank had ruptured so we had a new diesel tank as well! But it’s a good one anyway and it’s boats isn’t it? It’s what boats do... "

Photos;

Above - Left: HMS daring leaving Plymouth, looking across from Cawsands Bay whilst at anchor, Right: Looking upriver from The Bag at Salcombe

Below - Left: On a buoy outside Yarmouth with the geese flying across, Right: Sunset at anchor in Frogmore Creek, Salcombe